What's the secret to unlocking the creativity hidden inside your daily work, and giving every great idea a chance? Harvard professor Linda Hill, co-author of "Collective Genius," has studied some of the world's most creative companies to come up with a set of tools and tactics to keep great ideas flowing -- from everyone in the company, not just the designated "creatives."

What technologies could make the most difference? We must have new ways for citizens to self-organize, both in normal life and (especially) during crises, when normal channels may collapse, or else get taken over by the authorities for their own use. All this might require is a slight change -- or set of additions -- in the programming of the sophisticated little radio communications devices that we all carry in our pockets, nowadays.

People like to say, “keep it simple, stupid.” It's a down-home remedy for our overly complex, technology infused modern life. Like much good advice, it is often given, but rarely followed. The problem is that simplicity is not so simple. We live in a complex universe where much that happens is beyond our control. Merely wishing things to be simpler does not make it so. In fact, making facile assumptions often leads to disaster ...

"Visual recording is what it sounds like it’d be. As opposed to recording audio, visual recording captures visuals, though not necessarily in photographic form. The process of visually capturing ideas with the iPad isn’t terribly complex in concept. If you can think of concept-mapping, you’ve halfway there."

Thank you for follwoing my topic. I hope that it is helpful for you. I like what I see at your site. Also, I am curious about the conference on your other scoop.it site. It would be great if I could attend or present next time. I would be happy to stay in contact to learn more.
Ken

Life is filled with unexpected moments of beauty, something those on a lab bench know just as well as any poet. The third annual Science Is Beautiful competition at Charles University in Prague allowed students and faculty to share these moments through photographs, digital imagery and illustration.

Your reputation is your most valuable asset, you are creating a trail in every area of your life about your integrity, performance, expertise and is becoming the backbone of Social Business.

Rachel Botsman gives a powerful talk on TED about the currency of the new economy, which is trust. Rachel is the author of Collaborative Consumption. If you haven't read it, you should because it is an amazing book about a movement that is underway and the wave of the future.

It's empowering on so many levels. It has everything to do with the Trust Economy where technology has enabled trust between strangers to create all kinds of new marketplaces, relationships, possibilities.

This is one of those talks that you have to listen to more than once, it's that important!

Here are some highlights to Rachel's talk

**In the 21st Century, the reputation economy will create new ways we look at wealth, it is as powerful as the industrial revolution, listening to this talk is a must!

**Empowering people to create new marketplaces that are built on reputation and trust

**We have wired our world to share, swap, trade or barter - match what we have in more democratic ways

**part of a massive value shift underway - instead of keeping up with the Jones, we're connecting, collaborating and buying to get to know the Jones

**Your reputation and new ways of measuring this is crucial. This is not like Klout, where they measure influence, this is about service networking. She refers to this as lemonade stands on steroids

**Think of all the possibilities - over the past 20 years, we've evolved trusting strangres

**Reputation economy - everything we do leaves a trail online about how well we perform, behave towards others - capturing all of this is a massive challenge

**Shouldn't we own our reputation data? It's contextual, the big challenge, is figuring out what data is important to pull, but it's a matter of time we will be able to see a real-time stream of how you have acted, performed in different areas of your life. What you're good at, your integrity and performance rating. This is fascinating.

**Reputation Capital - The worth of your reputation - how you can aggregate, monitor and use your online reputation (she says this sounds like Big Brother) however, she has a point, she says we would have more control over our reputation if we own it. More on this in the talk.

**Reputation Capital will create a massive disruption in the marketplace - your credit score will no longer limit what you can do in the world - your reputation will be the currency that you can be trusted

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

CHARLES HITCHCOCK AND WILLIAM BLAKE, “GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE UNITED STATES” (1872).

The work of the chromolithographer Julius Bien is nowhere more appreciated than in his execution of the geology of the United States. Not the first geological map, it persists to this day in glorious color, mapping the unseen strata below our feet.

Visual thinking is the future of business problem solving. Using our innate ability to see – both with our eyes and our mind’s eye – gives us entirely new ways to discover hidden ideas, develop those ideas intuitively, and then share those ideas with other people in a way they are simply going to “get”.

There are countless websites out there that are geared to make you smarter and more brilliant for either a low or no cost. Here are just 25 killer websites that may just make you more clever than ever before.

Paul Aneja - eTrends's insight:

Internet has virtually limitless opportunities to expand our mind. Here are just 25 killer websites that may just make you more clever than ever before.

In The Nature Of The Future Marina Gorbis argues we are moving away from the depersonalized world of institutional production toward a new economy built on social connections and rewards--a process she calls socialstructing.

Ivon, I think in an increasingly transparent world the key issue is integrity. You need to establish yourself and your reputation on a solid and honest foundation. Becoming the "go-to-person" in the future is all about relevance and leading an open dialogue.

Finland now allows citizens to propose new laws online, and if an initiative gathers enough votes, the government must vote on it.

This year, Finland has taken two huge steps to make crowdsourced laws a reality. First, its constitution last March was modified to allow every citizen proposal that collects a mere 50,000 signatures to get voted on by Parliament. In response, a non-profit group of Helsinki entrepreneurs started a website called Open Ministry to allow people of voting age to propose initiatives online. The website uses APIs from banks and mobile operators to confirm identities. Recently, the Finnish Parliament approved the platform after verifying that the electronic identification process is secure.

Obviously, one of the best ways to boost your intelligence is to read more! You can read faster (and thus consume more knowledge) by getting your speech mechanism out of the equation. So give your mouth something to do, like eating, humming, or chewing gum to get through that stuff quickly. Then, take some time to absorb and reflect on what you read to keep it in your memory. Whether it'sWar and Peace or just the Wikipedia Random button, you'll be surprised by how much more you learn when you're reading not just fast, but well.

9. Speak Up (and Do It With Expression)

The more you can contribute to a conversation, a meeting, or other discourse, the smarter you'll come off. Even if it means admitting ignorance or asking questions, you'll still look better than if you stay silent—and you might actually learn something in the process. Expressive speech is key: you can boost your credibility a lot by simply making sure you speak with an engaging tone. Change your pitch and volume as necessary, and try to minimize the number of pauses as you speak. A little confidence goes a long way.

8. Don't Fall Prey to BS

When someone's trying to convince you of something, they can often resort to logical fallacies, appeals to your emotion, and other "workarounds". Learn the most common forms of BS so you can detect them as they come up. By knowing what they are, you'll also be able to avoid dishing out those same fallacies yourself, which can be a big hit to your credibility if someone catches you.

7. Focus on What You Know

When engaged in a heated discussion with your friends, you're bound to stumble upon a few holes in your knowledge. It's okay to admit when you don't know something, but if you're feeling particularly self-conscious and want to keep up the appearance of intelligence, the key is emphasizing what you do know. If you're in an argument, don't stress disagreement so much as agreement—that way, you aren't straying away from things you know about. You're stressing the parts you do know while still taking part in the discussion.

6. Get Some Exercise

A healthy body means a healthy brain. So, in between all the reading and mind-expanding, make sure you're leading a healthy physical life, too. That means eating right and getting regular exercise. A number of studies. have shown links between regular activity and intellecual capacity, productivity, and creativity. Will spending all day at the gym make you smarter? Not quite, but sitting around all day will not only kill you, but hinder your brain from being at its absolute best.

5. Talk to Yourself

While mumbling to oneself is often looked at the behavior of a crazy person, a recent study showed that talking out loud to yourself can help give you a temporary cognitive boost when trying to find something. The theory behind it: when you give yourself verbal labels to a task you're performing, you focus better on the task at hand at any given moment. So when you feel the need to open your mouth, don't fight the urge—it might help you get things done faster.

4. Learn a Second Language

People who know a second or third language are often perceived as smart by others, but research shows that it can actually make you smarter, too. If you know a second language, you're able to adapt to and switch between certain mental tasks better than those that only know one, so if you want to give your brain a real boost, learning a new language is a real (and useful!) way to do so. It's not actually hard to do, either: all you need is this simple four step method to learn in just a few months.

3. Do Things the Hard Way

Technology really has made our lives easier (after all, that's what Lifehacker's all about), but sometimes it's worth doing things the hard way. Take GPS navigation, for example: it's great that you can essentially never get lost, but if you rely on it too much, you'll never truly learn your way around. Instead, wean yourself off your GPS dependency and actually learn your way around town, develop a sense of direction, and learn to navigate using your brain. Doing things the hard way can help keep your brain sharp, so don't be afraid to forgo the easy stuff once in a while. Photo by Ramunas Geciauskas.

2. Know What Won't Make You Smarter

There's a lot of work going into researching what makes us smarter—much of which we've mentioned here—but it's also important to know what won't make you smarter. Check out our list of nine stubborn brain myths that just won't die to see just a few examples, like "the internet is making us dumber" (it isn't, if you use it properly), "listening to classical music makes children smarter" (unlikely), or that "brain games make you smarter" (don't waste your time). The less time you spend on silly myths, the more time you can spend actually expanding your brain, so get these out of your system now.

1. Just Believe You Can Be Smarter

Just believe you can be smarter. Studies have shown that this simple belief can actually make it true. That isn't to say you should be pompous: you need toassume you aren't that great yet, which will leave you open to learning new things and asking new questions—the exact sort of things that can make you smarter. But it'll never happen if you believe your intelligence is somehow fixed, so once that roadblock is gone, you may find you're much freer to pursue the level of intelligence you want. If you're having trouble doing that, it may be time to recalibrate your reality—attitude is everything.

As long as businesses are set up to focus exclusively on maximizing financial income for the few, our economy will be locked into endless growth and widening inequality. But now people across the world are experimenting with new forms of ownership, which Kelly calls generative: aimed at creating the conditions for all of life to thrive for many generations to come. These designs may hold the key to the deep transformation our civilization needs.

by Marjorie Kelly

Read a 30-page excerpt of the book, including the Foreword by David Korten, Prologue, and first chapter.

Josh Cothran looked at who's paid for healthcare over the past five decades, with an animated Marimekko chart.

In 1960, almost 100% of the spending on prescription drugs came out of the consumer's pocket; by 2010, out-of-pocket spending was down to 20%. Over the past 50 years, there have been major shifts in the way hospital care, physician services, long-term care, prescription drugs, and other services and products are paid for. This interactive graphic uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to show national spending trends from 1960 to 2010 for health care by payer.

This week, Moyers & Company reports on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of — ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council . A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”.

Among the most prolific and influential educators of her time, Emma Willard spent decades experimenting with the visualization of information. Here is one of her most ambitious efforts, a chart that traces the advent of civilization across time and space.

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Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
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